The Allahabad High Court on Thursday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file its counter affidavit on the alleged illegal detention and custodial torture of two minors in Shahjahanpur district for two weeks. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice F I Rebello and Justice Prakash Krishna asked the state authorities to file their counter affidavit by the next date of hearing on May 4. The order came on a PIL by an organisation People's Union for Human Rights wherein the court's attention was drawn to newspaper reports in January and February regarding the "illegal detention" of two boys - Vinay and Azad - at Tilhar post office of Shahjahanpur. It has been further alleged in the PIL that the two boys were "falsely implicated" in a case of murder and abduction and subjected to third-degree torture during their 14-day "illegal" detention.
